The Coast Guard yesterday said it has accepted delivery of its seventh 154-foot Fast Response Cutter, which will be home ported in Key West, Fla., in support of operations by the Seventh Coast Guard District.
The cutter Charles David Jr. is the first of six Sentinel-class cutters to be home ported in Key West.
 |
| The Fast Response Cutter Charles David Jr. Photo. U.S. Coast Guard |
The FRCs, which are being built by Bollinger Shipyards, replace the 110-foot Island-class of cutter boats. The cutters are used for a wide range of missions close to the nation’s littorals and are considered the workhorses of the Coast Guard fleet.
Of the seven FRCs delivered by Bollinger, five have been commissioned by the Coast Guard with the sixth set to be commissioned later this month.
So far, the Coast Guard has ordered 18 FRCs of a planned buy of 58 vessels. The service plans to recompete the FRC contract for at least the last 28 cutters. The FRC is based on an in-service parent craft design, the Damen Stan Patrol 4708. The cutters have a flank speed of 28 knots.
Separately, the Coast Guard last week said the fourth 418-foot Legend-class National Security Cutter was launched by shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII]. The launch notes the first time the cutter Hamilton entered the water, and is a milestone leading to the formal christening ceremony this October and eventual delivery and commissioning of the cutter into service in the fall of 2014.
The Coast Guard plans to buy eight NSCs. Three of the cutters are already operating with the service.